Microsoft has launched Windows Phone 7, its latest attempt to break into the lucrative smartphone market.
Until now the company has failed to provide a credible challenge to rival operating systems from Apple, Google, Research in Motion and Nokia.
Mobile phone operators predict smartphones will have a 70% market share in just three years.
Microsoft says it has made Windows Phone 7 more user-friendly, rebuilding the operating system from bottom up.
The phone system's experience is built around so-called hubs that aggregate content like contacts, pictures, documents, and music and video. The content on the phone is then synchronised both with storage services on the internet and the owner's computers at home.
At launch Microsoft's new phone system will be available on nine phones, and with 60 operators in 30 countries.
In the UK the phone will launch on 21 October, while the US launch will be in early November.
BBC News
